Vt. history center decides against armory plan

Center has dropped plans to move into the old armory building

The St. Johnsbury History and Heritage Center in Vermont has dropped plans to move into the old armory building.

The town and the center were to contribute $10,000 each for a study of carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the vacant building's basement floor paint. But concerns have been raised that the PCB problem may have spread throughout the building.

Town Manager John Hall told the selectboard Monday the unexpected high cost of dealing with the PCB problem has ended the deal.

The history center leases the town-owned armory for a dollar and has an option to buy it for a dollar. The agreement expires in November. The board is considering repairing a leaky section of the armory roof until the PCB matter is resolved.